The Château

by Paul Goldberg

"We have proverb in Florida...You know why it's good to be on beach?"

Bill smiles, but says nothing. He wants the guy to keep talking.

"Because on beach you are surrounded by idiots on only three sides."

"And on the remaining side you have what?" asks Bill.

"Sharks..."

Paul Goldberg, the acclaimed author of The Yid, takes us behind the scenes of a Florida condo board election, delivering a wild spin on Miami Beach, petty crime, Jewish identity, and life in Trump's America.

It is January 2017 and Bill has hit rock bottom. Yesterday, he was William M. Katzenelenbogen, successful science reporter at The Washington Post. But things have taken a turn. Fired from his job, aimless, with exactly $1,219.37 in his checking account, he learns that his college roommate, a plastic surgeon known far and wide as the “Butt God of Miami Beach,” has fallen to his death under salacious circumstances. With nothing to lose, Bill boards a flight for Florida’s Gold Coast, ready to begin his own investigation—a last ditch attempt to revive his career.

There’s just one catch: Bill’s father, Melsor.

Melsor Yakovlevich Katzenelenbogen—poet, literary scholar, political dissident, small-time-crook—is angling for control of the condo board at the Château Sedan Neuve, a crumbling high-rise in Hollywood, Florida, populated mostly by Russian Jewish immigrants. The current board is filled with fraudsters levying “special assessments” on residents, and Melsor will use any means necessary to win the board election. And who better to help him than his estranged son?

As he did in The Yid, Paul Goldberg has taken something we think we know and turned it on its ear. Featuring a colorful cast of characters, The Château guarantees that you will never look at condo boards, crime, kleptocracy, vodka, Fascism, or Florida the same way again.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Jewish, Contemporary

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 13, 2018

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

William Katzenelenbogen, investigative reporter, has been fired by the Washington Post. At fifty-two years old, he is being replaced by untested "new hires" who will now cover political ideologues and patterns of crime. Unlikely to scoop up a high paying job, cash strapped Bill needs a journalistic opportunity. Bill's former college roommate, Zbignew (Zbig) Wronski, arguably the "Butt God of Miami Beach", a posterior designer who reshapes "butts" has fallen to his death from the forty-third floor of the Grand Dux Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. Deemed an accident by the police, the case is closed. Bill wants to understand the circumstances surrounding Zbig's death and travels to Florida. Perhaps he can write a book hypothesizing the cause of Zbig's demise.

The Katzenelenbogen family are Russian transplants. Coming to America from Moscow in 1978, Bill's father Melsor was a poet, a refusenik and a recognized troublemaker. Melsor sets up a non-extant fleet of ambulettes. Although not convicted of a crime, son Bill, outraged by his father's betrayal of the public trust, has not seen him for twelve years, but now, needs free accommodations in Florida and knocks on Melsor's door.

Melsor lives in the Chateau Sedan Neuve, "condo living" for the wealthiest 2% to 3%. Ethnically, the population of the condo dwellers is half Jewish and half Russian. Bill has made a timely entrance into Melsor's life. He is witness to the crumbling edifice. The building structure is moldy, the lobby flooded and the furniture is water stained. The condo is in flux, a constant state of construction where improvements are never completed. What's worse is that the Board of Directors is planning a $19 million special assessment to be imposed on the Chateau's 360 unit owners, guaranteed to force out those unable to foot their portion of the price tag. Melsor is determined to run for the BOD to end corruption, kickbacks, and break the cycle of build, demolish and rebuild.

In a darkly comic manner, the BOD election parallels the weeks leading up to the inauguration of Donald Trump. "The Chateau" by Paul Goldberg describes honesty and integrity, off shore deals and politically corrupt alliances.

Thank you Macmillan-Picador and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Chateau".

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first thought upon finishing this book was how do I review it? It’s such a difficult book to review. Goldberg sticks to the write what you know maxim judging by his fictional award winning debut Yid, which actually sounds way more interesting than this one, born in Moscow, moving to the US at 14, the man has an authentically bifurcated perspective and this is definitely a story that requires such an approach not just of its author, but also of its audience. This novel is very much a bilingual experience, literally and figuratively, which might be viewed either as one of its main draws or (in my case) or one of its main (exhaustive) detractions. The plot has to do with a suddenly fired 52 year old journalist who goes to Florida with the intent to investigate his friend’s death and ends up embroiled in his lunatic of a father’s plan to overthrow his condo board. Theoretically this is political conflict of Trump’s election played out in a microcosm of a luxury condo building. Practically it’s something of a farce, something of a satire, something of a father/son drama. Melsor, the father, is a fascinating character, once a proletarian freedom fighter, now an ardent Trump supporter, an idealist turned conman turned saboteur, too psychologically scarred by one culture to properly belong to another, he is a man who values his convictions about his relationship with his only son. Personally I’ve always been fascinated by how someone can immigrate from a totalitarian strongman regime and later crave it, so here’s an interesting take on that mentality. That mindset’s juxtaposition to one of the 4 decade thoroughly Americanized son would have created enough drama, possibly making for a more compelling read, but the tedious machinations and internecine politics of the condo building situation were considerably less compelling and Goldberg’s insistence of doing the book in both languages (some writings are recreated in original in Cyrillic alphabet and all relevant dialogue is done in both languages, original in Latin alphabet spelled out phonetically) is just user unfriendly. What’s the goal here? Is the book aimed mainly at a narrow bilingual audience, because even if you can read both, it’s tedious and not at all necessary. If you can’t…than it’s just puffing up the book with word count. Seems weirdly gratuitous or something. The narration was quite good though, pleasantly humorous, it’s like the book tried to engage you in spite of itself. Maybe Yid would have been a more agreeable read. This one was interesting enough, particularly for a refreshingly honest look into an eastern European immigrant experience in the modern America. And I imagine going with English only version would cut the reading time significantly. Unless you’re trying to expand your linguistic prospects. Thanks Netgalley.

[Lisa Zeidner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ripped-out-of-the-headlines novels often fail. Not this one. THE CHATEAU appears to have been written in a kind of happy heat amid Trump's presidential run and Russian scandals. Like a slaphappy, tipsy anthropologist, Goldberg penetrates the community of Russian emigrees in Florida who supported the man they call Donal'd Tramp. Their own infighting, and crimes, echo the country's, as they argue over control of a condo board and the building's graft-infested construction projects. Goldberg himself is a Russian transplant, well-versed in the language and culture, and in fact the inspiration for this satire is clearly Gogol--that blend of sharp-eyed contemporary observation and downright absurdism. Goldberg's hero, Bill (nee Ilya), is a frumpy, drunk Everyman right out of Gogol: fired from his reporter job at the Washington Post, he finds himself down and out in his father's condo, dealing not only with his nutty, narcissistic father, but with Russian prostitutes, hiding Nazis (who may also be Jewish?), and little old ladies who may or may not be terrorists. Extremely sharp, extremely of-the-moment, and extremely funny!

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

What a strange book! Author Paul Goldberg's second novel follows up his successful debut The Yid with a blackly comedic exploration of the surreality of life in post-election-Trump America. William (nee Ilya) Katzenelenbogen has lost his job as an investigative reporter at age 51, his college friend the so-called "Butt God of Miami Beach" aka Zbignew (a cosmetic surgeon), has fallen to his death, so he decides to revisit the scene of Zbig's demise with the vague idea of turning his experiences into a saleable book/movie/source of income.

Since his finances are in the crapper along with his professional life (he doesn't even have the cash to cover his upcoming rent), he plans to stay with his father and stepmother. He's been estranged from his father for years, ever since his father's trial for fraud against the government for a scheme involving a non-existent ambulette service.

Bill/Ilya gets sucked into one farcical situation after another when he gets involved in his father's revenge and takeover scheme with his (the father's) condo board of directors. Bill stretches his horizons to unlawful entry and a pile of other felonies in a largely vodka fueled attempt to support and reign in his father to some degree.

The entire book is a sort of morality play. The writing is stellar, but I'm not nearly as hip or cool as the target audience. I am very sure it will play well to young urban professionals, especially ones who are more familiar with the stereotypes than am I.

There were several points in the book that surprised an uncomfortable bark of laughter out of me. I also enjoyed the way the author handled the non-English dialogue. It was comfortable and seamless to read. I also admire the heck out of the author's ability to do the necessary mental gymnastics to write characters who are philosophically diametrically opposed to one another. Bill's interactions with his father are brilliantly written (and full of pathos(?)).

Bottom line, not a comfortable read for me, but extremely well written and powerful. Dark, dark, sarcastic humor. Also worth a note, this book is extremely current. Not precisely sure how well it'll play 10 years from now. A lot of the humor involves the surreal and frenetic current news cycle and living in the USA. If you feel like you've fallen into an alternate dimension every time you turn on the news, this book will tick a lot of boxes.

Due out 13th February, 2018 from Macmillan's Picador imprint.
Four stars for the writing

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set during the inauguration of Donald Trump, this novel tackles political and social tensions from the perspective of immigrants on either side. Overall, a fun read: satirical and subversive with heavy doses of despondence and brutal realism. I really enjoyed the tidbits of Russian literature and poetry and vocabulary words sprinkled throughout the text.

[Gordon Kaplan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is January 2017, and Bill has hit rock bottom. Yesterday, he was William M. Katzenelenbogen, successful science reporter at The Washington Post, with years of experience and industry awards; however, things have taken a turn. Fired from his job, aimless, with exactly $1,219.37 in his checking account, he learns that his college roommate, a plastic surgeon known far and wide as the “Butt God of Miami Beach,” has fallen to his death under salacious circumstances. With nothing to lose, Bill boards a flight for Florida's Gold Coast, ready to begin his own investigation – a last-ditch attempt to revive his career.

There's just one catch: Bill's father, Melsor.

Melsor Yakovlevich Katzenelenbogen – poet, literary scholar, political dissident, small-time crook – is angling for control of the condo board at the Château Sedan Neuve, a crumbling high-rise in Hollywood, Florida. The current board is filled with fraudsters in cahoots with contractors and levying “special assessments” on residents, and Melsor will use any means necessary to win the board election. Who better to help him – through means both legal and illegal – than his estranged son?

The Château guarantees that you will never look at crime, condo boards, kleptocracy, vodka, or Florida the same way again.

(Description, edited, is taken from the inner flap of the hardcover book jacket.)

This book for a good part of it induced a meh attitude. It's probably because the book is infused with much black humor,and one has to be in the proper mood when reading.

I still liked it enough to whiz through it in less than three days and will read Goldberg's next book. (I read his first novel, The Yid, last year when it came out.) While it might not be five-star worthy, I'm giving it four stars. I guess I'm an easy grader.

Be forewarned: If you like Donald Trump and the ideals for which he stands, you probably shouldn't read this book.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the reviews on the back sums it up pretty well: "[about] Russian Jewish immigrants, Florida retirees, condo living, Donal'd Tramp, elderly sex, old folks who scam the early bird dinner specials, and more..."

Thing is, I can't particularly relate to any of those things, so found it pretty hard to engage with this book. Putting all the insider references aside, it was funny in places and a bit of a view into an unknown world (condo board of director contractor rackets), but I wouldn't really recommend it.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fleetingly funny, and certainly amusing throughout. Already a bit of a dated snapshot of what American life was like right when Donald Trump was coming into power. Really not much plot to speak of, which made it a bit hard to push through the final quarter of the book (not typically a good sign). The female characters are ornamental at best, and serve as punchlines at worst. I appreciate the effort that goes into comic novels, especially set in an unusual place like this. Just not compelling enough to sit with these unlikable characters for so long.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humorous story with many reminders of my grandparents. Also, visiting Florida and references to our current political situation are sprinkled in.

[Lou Breault · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Awful awful awful. Honestly I could barely finish. What is Russian for “I hated it”?

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

lorida, Russia, ISIS, immigration, corruption, prostitution, health care, journalistic ethics, wiretapping, conspiracy.

No, I'm not talking about today's headlines, our political climate, the White House or Trump, although he is often quoted in Paul Goldberg's brilliant albeit exhausting satire, "The Chateau," a novel that tries way too hard to be too many things, including a murder mystery, love story, political parable, legal thriller and family drama.

In the weeks leading up to Trump's inauguration, longtime and renowned Washington Post investigative reporter Bill Katzenelenbogen gets fired for insubordination. The day before, esteemed plastic surgeon Dr. Zbignew Wronski, who went to school with Bill, mysteriously fell to his death from the balcony of a lavish Hollywood, Florida hotel.

As Bill reflects upon the future of his career over several drinks, he is joined by Gwen, a former colleague and one-night stand, who persuades Bill to write a book about his distant friend and the bizarre circumstances surrounding his demise.

Soon Bill is on his way to Florida, excited to be wearing his reporter's hat again until he is reunited with his estranged 82-year-old father, Melsor, a Medicaid fraud felon residing at a condo village, "The Chateau."

As Bill gets acquainted with the colorful, Tarantino-like cast of characters from his father's complex, he finds himself amidst an organized crime operation in which the condo's board of directors procures kickbacks from contractors.

Despite his checkered past (or perhaps because of it), Melsor is determined to take the reigns by - how else - running for office. Try as he might, Bill can't seem to escape the intricate web of deception and corruption, whether it's his father's campaign or his late doctor friend, who seemingly met with foul play.

The ensuing antics are so ridiculous and convoluted it's hard not to laugh out loud, whether it's from amusement, disbelief or disgust. The plot moves quickly and erratically, jumping within a series of intertwining storylines, where no one behaves especially admirably and few lessons are learned. Nevertheless, Bill's adventures make for one hell of a ride, as the author showcases his journalistic prowess (and Russian fluency) by presenting the who, what, where, when, why and how for a veritable almanac of facts, figures and forgeries.

Although I was more interested in Dr. Zbig's flight than Melsor's plight, it was still a race for me to finish and satisfy my curiosity. It's not surprising but no less alarming that the darkly comic "The Chateau" is indisputably a metaphor for America today.

[Jean Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one left me wondering what to think.
The beginning tells the story of Ben K (trust me, that's easier than spelling out his last name), who is a disgraced former reporter with the Washington Post. That right there is enough to hook me, because as a life-long DC suburb resident, I'm always drawn to stories set in and around our nation's capital.
Ben's best friend from college has recently plunged to his death from the balcony of an atrium hotel in Miami, and since he is recently unemployed, Ben decides to travel to Miami to try to discover what caused his friend to commit suicide. Here's where the story takes a hard left turn.
Ben is from a family of Russian Jews who escaped from Communist Russia. He is -- well not exactly estranged -- but has a difficult relationship with his elderly father, Melsor, who lives in a large, aging condo building (The Chateau) in Miami. Naturally Ben goes to see his father, and the craziness begins. The Chateau is drenched in a culture of corruption, power struggles, payoffs, and angry old women who beat total strangers about the head and neck with little to no provocation,
There is a dark humor permeating this novel, even as the tragic history of the residents also permeates. The drama of the struggle for power in this building completely overshadows the question of why Bill's friend fell to his death. So what I thought was going to be possible crime investigation with ties to Washington DC turned out to be a dark comedy set in Miami. That's one reason I'm a little perplexed. Another is how the story lines are wrapped up.
So, it's an entertaining story that kept my interest, but in the end ... I'm not sure what to think.

[Zachary Houle · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the world now into the second year of the Donald Trump administration, books about the orange-haired one have begun appearing. You’ve probably already heard of the white-hot non-fiction bestseller Fire and Fury. You can now add a novel to the mix: Paul Goldberg’s The Château. This isn’t a book about Trump, per se, but it is set in the lead-up to his inauguration in January 2017. As such, the characters all reference him, and the novel keeps the reader mindful of Trump’s shenanigans in the background.

The book deals with a disgraced Washington Post reporter, fired for insubordination. Bill Katzenelenbogen, as he is known, is pretty much drinking himself into a stupor when he finds out that a college roommate of his, a plastic surgeon known for his exclusivity on working on women’s buttocks, has fallen to his death in his Florida office building. Smelling a story that he might be able to transform into a sensational book, Bill K. heads off to the Sunshine State to do some poking around. However, when he arrives, he finds himself immersed with his shady father’s dealings with an even shadier condo board. Eventually, that’s pretty much all that Bill K. finds himself gettings deeper and deeper involved with, almost forgetting about the real reason why he’s down there in the process, as the clock counts down to Trump’s coronation.

Read the rest here: https://medium.com/@zachary_houle/a-r...

[Courtney Stuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this novel is the blackly comedic exploration of the surrealistic life in post-election-Trump America. Set during the dark day that was the inauguration of Donald Trump, this novel tackles political and social tensions from the perspective of immigrants on either side of the political divide. A suddenly fired 52-year-old journalist, dismissed for insubordination, goes to Florida with the intent to investigate his friend’s death and ends up embroiled in his lunatic of a father’s plan to overthrow his condo board. Theoretically, this is political conflict of Trump’s election played out in a microcosm of a luxury condo building. Practically it’s something of a farce, something of a satire, something of a father/son drama. The Chateau is an uproarious satire of the dissolution of the American Dream but what follows is nothing short of a kind of madness. Goldberg is supposedly remarkably perceptive. A laugh out loud hysterical wordsmith whose talents are on full display; his observations profoundly on the nose and the dialogue between the characters is real, witty, genuine. Some might argue that The Chateau is at times over the top but it wouldn’t have been nearly as entertaining had it not been, but this book is decisive, you will either love it or hate it. Oh and by the way, if you like Donald Trump and the so-called ideals for which he stands, you probably shouldn't read this book and the use of Russian got old fast.

[Onceinabluemoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off a rollicking good time, every sentence jam packed with crazy, the kind of book you can't miss one word, it was a five star hit for sure! And now a little backdrop, I have been coming up short all this week with my reading, I usually start a book at 4am when I awake in the still dark mornings, mind fresh and eager to fill my head with a multitude of topics. Then my day starts, I didn't have this audio so listened to another while doing chores during the day, by the time I nestled back down to read in the late afternoon I seem to have lost the mornings rosie glow. This is the third book this week it's happened to, I think I am juggling to many books at once, what started out fabulous now felt tedious, so much crazy, so much banter, so much Russian! Rather than savoring I began slogging and finally skimming to the end. Is it me, or the books??? Most likely I am just exhausted, dehydrated and not capable of stringing coherent thoughts and plots! There is no way this is an average three star book, I found it very good in the unpredictability department, but I just couldn't give it the five stars I felt when fresh as a daisy in the dawns early light!

[Amy Newman · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I finished this book is because I had to read it for work. Goldberg had the shell of what could have been an interesting book, a quasi-detective story that pits a father and his estranged son against a corrupt Florida condo board. Released in early 2018, the book takes place in the days around the Trump inauguration and, inexplicably, Goldberg layers commentary about truth versus falsehood, the gulfs in American society around support for and opposition to the Trump president, etc. This add-on was clearly a rush job; the seams show.
Goldberg gestures at some detective novel tropes but doesn't commit to them, and neither does he commit to busting them open. He also includes a fair bit of Rothian raunch, but also doesn't do so in a full-hearted way. If this isn't enough, he chooses to close the book with a bit of played-out "The Lady or the Tiger" chicanery that isn't well executed.
The result is a confusing jumble.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book you grab for the cover. The description inside pulls you in even further. Journalist, Will Katzenelenbogen down on his luck investigates the death of his college roommate, The Butt God of Miami Beach. What follows isn't a thrilling mystery, filled with twists and turns, and unexpected answers. Instead, Will faces off with his estranged father, Melsor, who struggles for justice amidst a crooked Chateau BOD. Fully engulfed in the conflict, Will finds himself dealing with the seedy and old BOD of the Chateau.

Disappointment set in when I finally realized the Butt God was not the center of attention here. His demise is unveiled, and it leaves much to be desired, but Will says it best himself, "The truth doesn't fucking matter - not anymore." What Chateau lacks in Butt God, it makes up for in reflection. Picking up this book, we all had expectations of solving what happened to the Butt God. We instead spent 350-pages in an upscale retirement home.

#1 Rule: Don't judge a book by its cover.

[candice.is.reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story as sold on the book jacket - man loses job and is forced move to South Florida to reconnect with his father, fight a condo board, and investigate the death of a Butt King - sounded up my alley. So I was not surprised that I enjoyed the the plot and the characters.

But I WAS surprised that the plot and characters would only be a portion of this book. Instead, it’s also a Russia 101 course (the concept of which had to be explained) and a large chunk is translated. This got old very quickly. And while I appreciate the macro/micro parallels the author is drawing with the “Tramp” election, it started to feel forced and heavy handed about half way through.

The acknowledgements mention the possibility of a future series, which seems to explain why certain character relationships are never wrapped up, but I won’t be signing up for a second book. I might not have finished this one if it hadn’t fulfilled a square on my Seattle Public Library #BookBingoNW2018 bingo card.

[Susan B · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning was a little slow and I was wondering if it was worth it. But i prevailed , humorous I was hoping for funny with all the Russian in the book you could skip over all that for the translation. Bill does reunite with his father but doesn't resolve the issue of his friends death to the very last 10 pages. He got sidetracked with melsor, his father and his condo problems. I had to reread the last 2 pages again just to make sure I hadn't missed something. Different , good for the beach or poolside read.

[Beth Peninger]

Thank you to NetGalley and Picador for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

I confess. I was skeptical as I started the book. Within the first paragraph, I was already unsure if I could stick with Goldberg's writing style. I got 10% in and felt so disinterested and even hints of dread at reading anymore that I knew it was one I needed to just give up on. For me, the combination of Goldberg's style, the characters he had introduced so far, and the use of current political events just turned me off.

[Don · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the most boring book I’ve ever read. I have never not finished a book I started giving the author a chance to redeem himself. In this case he did not.
I kept asking myself why does he feel the need to mention Trump in every single chapter when it adds nothing to whatever story he is trying to tell. This felt like the ramblings of someone high on some bad weed.

I bought this book ( thankfully at a thrift store) thinking it would be a Carl Hiaasen type of book. I was dead wrong.

Save yourself the time and DO NOT Start reading this book.

[Melissa Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Chateau”, a satire set in the condominiums of Florida amidst the Russian emigre retiree community in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s election is a weird pastiche of politics, corruption, and dishonesty. Wait! Just like Washington! I would have enjoyed the book more if I was able to laugh at today’s political situation, but I find it just too dire for humor.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely everything about this book is awesome. Its snarky and dry humor had me in stitches. I could hear some of my journalist friends in Bill's voice, and the over-the-top characters were everything you'd hope for from a novel that takes place in Florida. The wit in this book is sharp, and if you love zany characters that could only exist in a novel, this is the book for you.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill has lost his journalism job, and learned that his college roommate fell to his death under strange circumstances at the Florida condo where his grandfather lives. Bill goes to investigates, and enters the strange world of Russian emigres who are embroiled in a contest for control of the condo board. Rich in the culture brought to the US by these emigres.

[Jacob Mendelsohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a perfectly good story here about family and how ridiculous condo communities in Florida are. It's held back by an initial premise that never really never really goes anywhere and hamfisted political commentary. I've also started forming strong opinions about books that don't tell me why the font was picked.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Butt God of Miami Beach. Vodka. Russian Jewish immigrants. The Art of the Deal. Medicare fraud. Condo board elections. Sex, suicide, satire and a subversion of the “noir hero” as hilarious as Lebowksi. This might be the funniest book I’ve ever read. Might be the funniest book you've ever read. For fans of Kafka, Pushkin, Gogol, and fun.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nowhere near the tour de force that was “The Yid” Pages of verse in Russian, followed by English translation. I think he wrote the book primarily for a Russian American audience. The ending really left me puzzled.

[Michael Baranowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

The very funny first few chapters sucked me in, but the longer I read the less interesting it got. It may be that I'm just not familiar enough with Jewish culture and customs to fully appreciate the book.

[Vernon Luckert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth your time! Full of the main character's (and I suspect the author's) expression of his "progressive" (actually "regressive if you know any history) politics and an overgenerous dollop of small-minded TDS. Actually worthy of a zero star rating, if that was an option.

[Jack Goodstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early review copy--not as impressive as his debut novel as hero deals with loss of his job, an old friend and an estranged parent.